OPINION OF EMPLOYEES FROM MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF PLOVDIV ON ASSURANCE OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND JOB SATISFACTION – PRELIMINARY RESULTS

The constitutional right to work of every employee is tied to the right of safety and healthy work. The generallegal framework in this area for EU Member States determines European and national regulations. CouncilDirective 89/391/EEC sets forth the employer’s obligation to examine employees’ attitudes towards the workenvironment and the factors that are harmful to health and safety (1,2). Work environment includes the physical,chemical, biological, organizational, social, socio-psychological factors surrounding a person and his workplace,while the harmful factors affecting health and safety are physical, chemical, biological, psychological,organizational or other agents or impacts with negative or hazardous effects on the health and safety ofemployees (3,4). Improvement of the working conditions is a complicated and lengthy process requiringimplementation of up-to-date theoretical models for quality supervision and management, occupational safetyincluded, by applying E. Deming’s PDCA Cycle of continuous improvement (Plan-Do-Check-Act). Based onDeming’s cycle, a model for continuous improvement of the working environment at the Medical University(MU) in Plovdiv can be proposed by giving answers to the following questions: What changes could be made toimprove work results? How are we to know that the changes have resulted in improvement? and What do weexpect to achieve?The aim of this paper is to investigate the opinion of employees from the Medical University on the provision ofsafety working conditions and their job satisfaction.